Refrigerator shelf



Oct. 14, 1952 w. E. RICHARD REFRIGERATOR SHELF 2 SHEETS-sham 1' Filed Oct. 2. 1947 INVENTOR. W E. Rib/lard be cla Oct. 14, 1952 w. RICHARD REFRIGERATOR SHELF Filed Oct. 2. 1947 INVENTOR. WE Richard Patented Oct. 14, 1952 'IREFR-IGERATOR' SHELF 7 William .E. Richard, Evansville, ind assignor to Seeger Refrigerator Company, St. Paul, Minn,

a corporation ofMinn'esota.

Application October 2, 1947, Seria l-No. 777A 1 Claim- (Cl. 1211-153) The present invention relates to refrigerator shelves, and is particularly concerned with refrigerator shelves of the type that are 'apertured to provide for the free circulation of the air within the compartment in which. they are located.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved refrigerator shelf which is strong, light in weight, which provides a smooth support for receptacles and articles of all kinds, yet which permits a maximum amount of air circulation through its apertures and around the food supported upon the shelf. Another object of the invention is the provision. of an'improved shelf which may be manufactured at a very low cost, and with a minimum number of machine operations, and which is adapted to provide a finished appearance, particularly from its front and top, and whichalso is provided With'a hand grip portion at its forward edge, by means of which the shelf may be slid out of its placeand adjusted upon other supporting brackets, if desired.

Another object of; the invention is the provision of an improved :shelf for refrigerators adapted to be constructed entirely of sheet metal .or of sheet metal and an extruded, cast, or rolled bar sothat a'minimumnumber of different kinds of .material areemployed, these-parts being so asse'mbled that. there is a ledge at the forward edge of the shelf for preventing articles from sliding off the shelf. The point of juncture between the forward bar or trim and the body of the shelf is concealed and covered so that dirt cannot penetrate at this point; and the means of securing these parts together is concealed. I

Other objects and advantages of .the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views. Referring to the two sheets of drawingsf.

Fig. l .is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through arefrigerator cabinet provided with a shelf embodying the invention, showing atop plan view of'the shelf;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view .of the shelf. alone, taken on .the plane of the line 2- -2 'of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrowsjl I Fig. 3 .is a front elevational view of the shelf showing'fragments of the cabinet and ?a section.

tion of the arrows; v v

Fig. 4 is'a fragmentary sectionalview, showing the mode of securing the shelf'and front trim bar together in such manner as to conceal the on the plane 3-3 of Fig. 1,looking in'jthe direcfor forming the front trimbar;

fastening means and protect the joint from the entrance of dirt and to provide an upwardly projectin'g ledge;

"Fig; 5'isa view -similar to Fig.4 m modifica-.

tion utilizing a rolled metal "section of sheet metal Fig.6 is a fragmentary :sectionalview through the shelf, taken on the plane'of the line 6--6 of Fig.1.-

Referring to Fig. 3, .ln'indicates thecompartment of a'refrigeratonithe side walls II and I2 of which are provided with inwardly extending metallic brackets I3 at 'the'front and 'the back 'of'thecompartment 'lfl'ion each wall forsupporting'as'helf. v i

The shelf I4 is shown in plan in Fig. l,"and it consists of abody portion and a front trim bar IS. The body portion l'5.preferably-consists of a substantially rectangular sheet of metal,

such as aluminum or magnesium, which may be provided with ananodizedmat finish.

In'o'ther "embodiments of: the invention the body 15 may consist of'sheet'steel which is plated with some suitable material, such as szinc.

The body I5 is provided about its border with the depending borderi'flanges l1, I8, [9, and '20 'and' th'e border flanges- -l |-l 9 .'may be relatively wideywhile the frontzborder' flange isv preferably made narrower. joined at the cornersby partially cylindrical flange formations-2|, 22, 23, 24, thus providin the body l5 with a continuous depending border flange adapted tofrestupon the brackets I3 on each "sideg-and adapted to reinforce and'stiffen the entire assembly.

The rear body flange. l8 mayalso rest upon'two or more similar-brackets l3, thus eliminating the necessity for further "transversely extending reinforcem'ent other than the. border flange 18 at this point.

The front border flange 20, while being narrower, is'reinforced and strengthened by being secured at regularly spaced points tothe front trim bar '16, so that, although there are no brackets 13 for supporting the shelf at its front edge, adequate strength isprovided by means of the front bar [.6. v .The'body ll: of thei'she'lf is'p'rovidedwith a multiplicity -.of elongated :slots .or apertures '25 separated by theremaining narrow body portions 26, each ofwhichrhas a plane upper'portioni'l and a pair of dependingreinforcing flanges .2 8 -2 9, as shown inFig'4-5. I

or lfl'by' a relatively wide plane :portion 36 of the body l5.;"and "the ends of the 'slo'ts at-the These border flanges are back of the shelf are spaced from the rear border I8 by a relatively wide plane portion 3| of the body I5. There may be a narrower flange 32 at the front end of the slots 25, since at this end the shelf is reinforced by the front bar I6.

The width of each of the flanges 28 and29, which depend from the rib formations 26, is equal to one-half the width of each'slot"f25,' gas these flanges are formedby'slitting the body I and bending the portions 28 and 29 downwardly out I of the body I5. At the rear end of each slot" the depending flanges 28 and 29 are-preferably joined by a partially cylindrical flange 33,

which also serves to reinforce and' strengthen At the front end of each slot 25 the depending this end of the shelf.

flanges 28, 29 may be cut away-atthe-point 34 and beveled upwardly toward that point from 35 to 34 (see Fig. 5). I

The front edge of the shelf is means of the front bar I6, which may; take any one of several forms. In the form-illustrated in Fig. 4 the bar I6 may be an extrudedand polished aluminum bar of the section. shown. For example, the-upper side 36 of this bar may have a plane surface, and at its rear corner there is-a vertical plane surface 31 forming a shoulder for preventing a'rticles'from sliding off the shelf.

At the forward and upper corner the bar I6 may be curved downwardly at 3B; and its extreme front edge 39 may be plane and may extend forwardly. The lower front edge is beveled off at 40, and the vertical depthof the assembly is preferably such that the bottom 4 I ,is flush with the lower edge 42 of the frontfiborder flange 20. 1

In order to provide. a maximum amount of strength the border flanges I! to 20' are .joined to the body I5with a graduallyrounded corner 43; and the front. bar I6 is preferably recessed to have a substantial fltiagainstthe front surface of the front border-flange 20 and the rounded corner 43also extending rearwardly of the corner 43 tothe abrupt shoulder 31. 2

Thus the jointbetween the bar lease in.

body of the shelf is overlapped .andconcealed by the rearwardly extending portion 44 of the bar I6; and the'curved surface .at the rear of the bar I6 fits the curved flanges-20 and 43,in such manner as to' provide. averysnug engagement between the bar I6 and the shelf I4.

Various modes of securing these two members I4 and I6 may beemployed, such as riveting, welding, soldering, etc. I preferwin .theycase of an extruded bar, to provide the-depending flange 20 with a plurality ofapertures 45 :which register with bores .46 in the-bar I6. Headed pins or fasteners 4 of the type having a selfcutting helical screw thread 48 may be employed. These headed fasteners may be driven into the bores 46 through the apertures 45 by means of a hammer or other suitable tool, andthey cut their own threads due to the long pitch of the threads 48, turning as they. go in and securely fastening the bar I6 to the shelf I4. v. 1

' In other embodiments of-the invention-thebar I6 may be welded at its rear side to the flangeg26. Referring now to Fig. 5, this is a modification in which the body I4 of the shelf may again consist of a light metal stamping,such as aluminum; or it may consist of a' sheet steel stamping plated with zinc. In this case the frontrein-forcingbar may consist of a rolled sectionof'stainlesssteel, indicated in its entirety by the numeral45'.'

reinforced by a vertical attaching flange 46' whichextends up 4 to a point above the body flange 32, where it is bent toward the right at 41' at a right angle.

The channeled bar 45' again reinforces the front edge of the shelf so that the border flange 2|] at the lower end of the shelf in Fig. 2 may be made relatively narrow and so that there may be a maximum length of the apertures 25 and a maximum air "circulation permitted.

' It'then has a lower horizontal portion 48' and is bent backwardly at a sharp angle 49 upon itself and provided with a horizontal plane portion 56 corresponding to the plane surface 36 on the bar I6.

' -It is then provided with a downwardly curved upper front portion SI and with a downward bend at 52.

The face of the channeled bar 45' is indicated at 53, and corresponds to the edge surface 39 of bar I6. At 54 the channeled member 45' is bent backwardly at an obtuse angle and provided with the diagonally extending portion 55. This leaves an opening 56 along the bottom which may be used for receiving the fingers, or the fingers may be placed behind the fiangeyZB in drawing the shelf in or out, when the shelf is to be adjusted or placed upon other supporting studs I3.

In this case the angle at 49 and shoulder provided thereby again prevents materials on the shelf from sliding offthe front edge; and the horizontal portions 48' and 56 of the channeled member 45 overlie the groove between the shelf and the front bar, and prevent dirt or other material from getting into the crack.

These two members have their flanges 46' and 20 provided with registering bores 51, which receive rivets 58, by means of which they are secured together. I r

In other embodiments of the invention they may be spot welded instead of being riveted; but

inner liner by means of screw bolts 6| threaded into apertures in the' liner and into threaded 'rnembers which may besecured behind said apertures outside of the liner.

The horizontally extending flange 52 of each bracket I3 may be slightly narrower, as will be seen in Fig. l, and each such flange is long enough to extend under the border flanges I1--I9 of the shelf;

The rear border flange I8 may have slots 63 into which the horizontal flange 62 of those brackets I3 is inserted when the'sh'elf is shoved into place. p 1

The side border flanges I'I andI9 are slotted upwardly from the bottom, as indicated at 64, to the same horizontal planeasthe slots 62 so that the shelf 14 may be slid into engagement with the rear brackets and then lowered on the two front brackets I3, one of which is located at each side, near the front of the side walls.

Thus the side brackets I3 prevent the shelf from coming off the rear brackets I3,.but the shelf may be removed by lifting the-front of the shelf and sliding it off the rear brackets I3. Qther types of supporting brackets mayalso. be

supplied.

minimum number of parts and which may be made out of sheet metal stampings combined 1 with an extruded front bar or a rolled section,

or a channeled front bar made out of a rolled section.

The present shelf permits a maximum amount of air circulation through apertures which are formed by pressing out reinforcing flanges in the body of the shelf; and while this removes considerable material from the body 'of the shelf, the

. front of the shelf is reinforced andstiffened by the improved mode of attachment and the structure 'of my front trim bars.

These bars cover and conceal all the fastening means and provide a forward ledge by means of which articles are prevented from sliding off the front of the shelf; and the assembly has a finished and smooth appearance, and can be maintained in a sanitary condition with a minimum amount of effort.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

In a sanitary refrigerator shelf, an integral substantially rectangular sheet metal member having an upper plane surface bordered on its front, rear and both sides by a depending border flange extending downward at substantially right angles to said upper surface, said member having its upper surface provided witha multiplicity of slots of uniform width and length ex-' tending from a point near the front border flange to a point near the rear border flange, said slots being separated by parallel plane portions of said member of uniform width, and said slots having depending border flanges on each side of said slots, extending substantially the full length of said slots, and a front retaining and finishing bar carried by said front depending border flange and having a plane top'surface, a rear plane surface attached to the front border flange and being co-extensive therewith, a rearwardly extendingupper rib joining the plane top surface and rear plane surface and overlapping the crack between said bar and said front border flange, said bar being tapered above and below toward a front edge surface, said bar comprising a channeled sheet metal member open at its bottom rear portion thus providing a space between said front edge surface and said rear plane surface and being secured to said front border flange by a plurality of rivets extending longitudinally through said front border flange and said rear plane surface, whereby said bar conceals said rivets from the top and the front of said shelf.

WILLIAM E. RICHARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 317,845 Osgood May 12, 1885 676,381 Ball June 11, 1901 738,788 Frank Sept. 15, 1903 1,979,902 Potter et al. Nov. 6, 1934 1,939,275 Hatch Jan. 29, 1935 2,011,357 Ford Aug. 13, 1935 2,020,890 Hollander Nov. 12, 1935 2,021,464 Rickard et al. Nov. 19, 1935 2,265,790 Young Dec. 9, 1941 2,321,859 Rosebrook et al. June 15, 1943 2,360,452 Stone Oct. 17, 1944 2,410,648 Friegel Nov. 5, 1946 

